It's the week before Christmas and we are all frantic with lots and lots of parties, gifts to buy, responsibilities, concerts, recitals - and one of the areas with which I always struggle is knowing what to bring to a party. It really stresses me out - and I know that lots of you are in the same boat. I mean, you don't want to be that person who brought a veggie tray again, right? So I thought I'd do a recipe round up here, and share with you ten of my tried and true favorites. I've made all of these, most of them multiple times, and they are all FANTASTIC.

Probably my very favorite - although really, any of them are magnificent and I'll be making all of them over the course of the next week - would be the Sausage rolls. I added peach cherry jam inside before I rolled them up and - right now, I want to eat a dozen.

The thing with having a kid with multiple food allergies is that you really kinda can't trust food from most places, so it forces you to become fairly creative in the kitchen. That, couple with the fact that I went to culinary school - and the fact that I find cooking and baking really relaxing - means I cook a lot.

It's a good thing people in my house like to eat.

I don't create recipes, but I find them and make them, and then I butcher them and make something different and make it my way. After all, I know what I like best, so there's no point in making a food that isn't exactly what I want, right?

It helps to be an OCD control freak about some stuff. :)

May I present Pumpkin Spice Donuts?

I found a recipe online and made them exactly the way the recipe said the first time - and then the entire batch was gone in a couple of hours, and so I made them again but I switched it up a bit because I wanted to mess around and emphasize the spice more, and deepen the flavor with some molasses.

Here is what I did:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup coconut oil

3 large eggs

1 can pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and molasses. Stir in the eggs, the pumpkin and the oil. Realize that the mixture is kinda chunky, (coconut oil tends to clump) so toss it all in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture back into the bowl. Stir in the spices, the baking powder and the flour. Stir until smooth.

I forgot to say to preheat the oven to 350, so do that here.

Grease your donut pan - I bought this one from Amazon and it's great - I love Amazon because I can order a donut pan and a GoPro and some shampoo all at the same time, winning! - and fill each donut well 3/4 full. I found that these didn't expand very much, but maybe make a single donut as a tester to check the rise for yourself, there's nothing worse than an overflowing pan. I love this non stick spray but I buy it at Williams-Sonoma because it's awesome but I'm not buying a case at a time - ain't nobody got money enough for that.

Bake about 15 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Dump the donuts out of the pan onto a cooling rack and allow to cool briefly, maybe 5 minutes.

You can eat them just as they are, or you can shake the warm donuts in a cinnamon sugar mix (I can't tell you how much, because like much of my baking, I totally eyeball it, but try 1 cup of sugar and a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon.) Shake one donut at a time in the bag of cinnamon sugar and place it back on the rack to cool completely.

Also, you can make a powdered sugar glaze ( a cup or so of powdered sugar, a bit of water, a teaspoon or so of vanilla until thick and drizzle-able, which is so a word because I say it is, and I saw it on the Internet so it must be true) and spoon it over the top of the donuts. I'd let them cool a bit before I glazed them, though, so it doesn't all run off the donut. But that's just me.

When I went on the #FarmtoPork tour, I saw pork from, well, the beginning to the end. I saw the insemination process, the nursery, the finishing farms, the kill floor, and the processing plant. I learned a lot. I mean, a lot, and I came home more committed and interested in learning all about the process. It was deep and it was visceral and I've heard some negativity about it, but I thought the tour was really well executed.

Between that time and now, I found a local butcher shop, one dedicated to sourcing ethically raised meats and helping local farmers find consumers who want well-raised healthy products. I've started to buy meat there - in a limited amount, but I would like to eventually be able to balance the wants and needs of a larger than typical family size and amounts with the meat that has a bit higher than standard price point.

And, hey, I'm not begruding anyone anything. I walk a fine line between wanting to balance a budget and getting everyone fed and making sure I don't feed my family shady food.

I made a cassoulet with meats from the local butcher shop - Norfolk Pendulum - and it was divine. I've bought sausages (multiple, for my hubby loves some Italian sausage) and pork chops and all of it was top notch. So when I saw an offer on their Facebook page to attend a Hog Butchery class, well, I was all about that pork.

1/2 hog, cleaned and ready to be cut into yummy pork goodness

The class was amazing and so, so interesting. I learned how that great slab above is cut, pulling out the tenderloin, learning where the Boston Butt is (Hint: it's not the butt area, but it's in the top half of the pig and contains the shoulder blade), and learned more about the structure of a pig than I ever thought existed.

Did you know that the back end of the pig is the sirloin? ME EITHER.

I mean, I didn't even realize - and I don't know why it was a stunner, because, if you think about it, it makes sense - that a pig has ball and socket joints just like people.

I'm thinking that this is cutting off the tenderloin, but I might be wrong

I learned more about how bacon is made - it comes from the pork belly - and brought home my own pork belly and instructions to make my own bacon. I am probably unreasonably excited about this opportunity.

Kilan Brown, Butcher, Muscle Man Extraordinaire

It takes skill and muscle to carve a pig into recognizable parts. And a big saw.

And it takes dedication to precision knife movements. I think I need to buy new knives.

When the entire hog was cut, Kilan reassembled it, so we could see how it all went together

I left with a goodie bag containing a boneless and a bone in pork chop, ground pork, a mini ham, a piece of pork belly and sirloin cutlets.

As well as a desire to learn even more about meat - the preparation of it, the production and presentation, and of course - how to cook it.

Next up? I want to attend the Sausage making class.

I think it's absolutely key for everyone to know where their food comes from, be they carnivores, vegans, whatever. This entire process has been really very illuminating.

And then I did the same thing for the amazing Caprese bread, which captured my mind when I went out to eat with the Husband a few weeks ago. I found a recipe online and messed with it a bit. When I saw that my basil plant is totally and 100% out of control - and, sadly, my tomatoes have all died, I realized I didn't have much longer to make this recipe.

That is a day worth mourning right there, the day you dig up your tomato plants. I do love fresh from the garden tomatoes.

I have all of the sads that there are no more tomatoes to be plucked from my backyard garden.

But I could - and did - have this. I swear to you that, when I made it, my husband and I ate half of the loaf in one face first hot minute.

Add the following into that mixture, and mix briefly but thoroughly - you don't want any flour pockets. (don't ask me how I know this, but they taste disgusting.Ok? Just don't ask me. It's better for us both if we pretend it never happened.)

I ball fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed. (I actually did some cubes and some strips and I'd really recommend that - it gave a great difference in the bread that was fun.)

2 handsful of fresh basil - I pulled a bunch off of the plant and rough chopped it. 1/2 jar sun-dried-tomatoes - drain the oil off and rough chop2 eggs3 T. oil drained from the sundried tomatoes1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups buttermilk - I ended up using about 1 1/2, but keep an eye on the consistency of the dough as you are mixing. Start with a lesser amount and add more if needed.

Mix and pour into a greased loaf pan. This bread doesn't rise much, so fill it about 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

This bread was delicious warm out of the oven, but when I thin sliced it, spread it with Tomato Jam and topped it with bacon and spinach - it was damned near orgasmic.

This post probably isn't for you if you are gluten free. I am a big eater of bread and cakes and all things gluten-y. I've got some Junk in the Trunk for many carbohydrated reasons.

I had a muffin last week. (I know, it's newsworthy. Shut Up. When you work from home, getting out is a Special Occasion Worthy of Documentation.)

I stood in front of the case at the coffee shop for a few minutes, debating on my choices. Ultimately, I chose cherry almond, and my mouth watered as I anticipated the first bite. I mean, really. CHERRY ALMOND. The mouth waters just thinking of it, amirite?

It was - very disappointing. No almond flavor, few whole cherries, and dry. The memory of that anticipated taste stayed with me, though, and I decided I'd try my hand at my own version. (My friend calls such culinary endeavors Redemption Foods, and I think that's absolutely stellar. Hence the title of this blog post.)

I realized that mabye I was more disappointed because what I really wanted were cupcakes and not muffins - maybe - so I decided I'd try my hand at cupcakes first because, hello, cupcakes. I'm not even going to try to explain that one because if you need an explanation we can no longer be friends.

As I do, I looked online for a recipe and then bastardized it to within an inch of the original. I think it came out pretty good.

Cherry-Almond Cupcakes with Frosting

3 cups cake flour

1 T. baking powder

2 cups sugar

Sift together. In a separate bowl, blend together:

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used vanilla, but you could probably use plain - or CHERRY would be great, I bet!)

2 tsp. almond extract

Combine very well. Stir in

1 jar Maraschino cherries, drained and roughly chopped

Fill cupcakes papers 3/4 full and bake at 350 until done. (I am the worst person in the world to give cooking directions, because - it sounds weird to say it - I cook by smell. I would guesstimate that these cooked 12-15 minutes? Check with a thin knife at 12 minutes - you definitely don't want them to be overdone.) Allow to cool on a rack for several hours and then frost. Don't try to frost them early - and ask me how I know this, oy.

For Frosting:

Allow two sticks of butter to sit on the counter while you mix and bake the cupcakes. Pick up the butter and realize that, by sitting it near the oven, you've effectively melted it. Put that butter in a dish and put it back in the fridge, and grab two more sticks. Soften those sticks in the microwave on 30%, for 10 seconds at a time, until they are nice and soft and not liquid. Don't get distracted by fighting kids or good looking movie stars on tv or, even, the smell of the yummy cupcakes. Stay focused here.

Hopefully you are better than I am at this stuff.

Put the softened butter into the mixer. Blend for a minute, then add:

1 1/2 tsp. almond extract

3-4 C. powdered sugar

a few splashes of heavy cream, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.

Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupckaes - I used Wilton #2110, but I've also long been a fan of 1B and 1M - different strokes for different folks. Sprinkle with colored sugar.

A few of my kids don't like frosting, so I left some unfrosted - and my son ate 6 in one day.

When I attended the #FarmtoPork trip, we went to dinner at 18 Seaboard. We had many really yummy foods, but I became obsessed with what the restaurant labeled Late Summer Cassoulet with Chicken Apple Sausage. If I hadn't been drilled in my manners so completely by my mom, I might have either licked the bowl or asked for a take out to eat another portion for late night snack.

It was PHENOMENAL. I'd never had cassoulet before (defined as a rich, slow-cooked casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat, pork skin and white beans. The dish is named after its traditional cooking vessel, the cassole, a deep, round, earthenware pot with slanting sides.) and came home determined to make it. The more I looked at traditional recipes, like this one from Saveur, the more I became convinced that the meal I'd enjoyed probably wasn't authentic (thank you, Baby Jesus, for I do not love me some duck and the idea of cooking with it squigged me out) but, rather, that it was a hybrid.

Hybrids I can do. Those are my specialty.

The one I'd enjoyed had lima beans, corn, white beans, chicken apple sausage, and a bunch of other stuff. The recipe I'd found from Saveur called for duck fat, ham hocks, pancetta, dry beans, and duck legs - and I didn't want duck at all. I found another recipe from Epicurious, which seemed somewhat closer - minus the ham hocks and bacon, but plus the canned beans I prefer to use, although that left out the cooking the beans with the ham hock thing that I *do* love - so I made my own recipe up. Mostly, I followed the Epicurious recipe - I just added in some steps from the Saveur and then did my own thing a couple of times.

I started by cooking three Italian sausages in olive oil. When they'd browned, I filled the cast iron skillet with a cup of water and 2 cups of apple cider and let them cook for about 40 minutes, until they were completely cooked. I took them out of the pot (there was no liquid left) and added a bit of olive oil back into the pot. I sauteed the chopped leeks, onion, carrots and garlic until soft. I added in the apple, rosemary and sage and brandy and cooked it down. I dumped in a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, 2 cans of white Northern beans (I didn't drain them, although the recipe said to), 3/4 of a bag of frozen lima beans, 1 cup chicken broth, 1 can of tomato paste, a bunch of pepper and 1/2 tsp cloves. I stirred it all up, sliced the sausage and added that in as well.

And then I thought about the ham hock. What could I do with that?

I buried it in the bean mixture and popped that bad boy in the oven for 2 hours.

After two hours, I took it out, let it cool, and then popped it into the fridge overnight.

The next day, I removed the ham hock and cut off the meat. I stirred the meat into the cassoulet and realized I'd never done anything with the bacon. So I cooked up the bacon, chopped it up and tossed it in.

Then, I realized that both recipes called for either a crumb topping or a crouton type deal - and I'd done neither. So I sprinkled the top of the cassoulet with panko crumbs - and then stopped, because the Saveur recipe called for duck fat and nope, nope, nope.

But.

I did have bacon grease, and so I drizzled some of that over the bread crumbs. I put the casserole dish back into the oven at 350 for another hour.

My husband pronounced it amazing! My kid said it was fantastic! I thought it was pretty tasty myself, but think I'd try it next time with chicken apple sausage and maybe some sauteed chicken breast meat.

I purchased all of the meats at a local butcher - Norfolk Pendulum. I love their products and swear by them. They didn't ask me to write this, or mention them - and they won't know I did it unless I tell them - I just think their meats are spectacular and really helped to make this dish a success.

It was definitely something I'd make again. I was thrilled that it turned out so yummy, and even happier that I'd made something I would consider a somewhat difficult recipe and I'd not botched it up so badly I needed to toss it.

I've talked about it here before, but one of my favorite summer things is growing tomatoes. They are FANTASTIC things, summer tomatoes. The very best thing. Winter tomatoes are nasty things, but summer - ahhhhh.

Last year I was exposed to the beauty, the wonder, the very elegance of tomato jam. Delicious with any meat, especially beef, fantastic with bacon on a sandwich, scrumptious on an everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. Truly, this stuff is generally just amazing.

I've shared jars of it with friends and I've been asked for the recipe several times, so I thought I'd post it here and hello! I made a video! Please go and watch it and try not to laugh too hard at my weird voice.

Please note: this is not my recipe. I have found many variations of the same recipe virtually all over the internets. Some call for chili flakes. Some use bacon. Some have vinegar (ugh.) My favorite calls for:

5 lbs. tomatoes (which was about 14 tomatoes for me)

3.5 cups sugar

2 t grated ginger (I use the squeeze tube because, lazy)

2 t. cinnamon

1 T salt

1/2 t cloves

1/2 cup lime juice

Combine it all and cook for about 1.5 hours. About 45 minutes in, boil canning jars and rings and allow to boil until ready to use. Put a glass plate in the freezer and when you think the jam is done (it darkens in color and thickens) drop a spoonful onto the cold plate and return to the freezer for a minute. If you can run your finger through the jam and the line doesn't fold in on itself, the jam is ready to be canned. Remove the jars from the boiling water and fill them with the hot jam. Wipe the threads of the jars, place the lids and rings on, and screw tightly closed. Drop back into the boiling water and boil for at least twenty minutes. Remove the jars from the boiling water and place on a towel (upside down) to cool overnight. The next morning, turn the jars right side up and check the seals.

This recipe makes about 5 small jars - and so I've made it aobut 6 times this summer. So far. I've also eaten I think 4 jars by myself. It is STUPID good.

One of my favorite parts of going to blogging conferences is getting to meet new people. If they have a really cool blog, even better.

When I went to Miami for the BlogHer Food conference, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Morgan at a dinner. She gave me her business card - actually, she gave me a choice of a few and I took three. I was really struck by how amazing her photography was. I saved the cards and made a mental note to visit her blog with the cute name of Peaches, Please.

Seriously. I love peaches, so yes, please. It helps that her pictures were just really inspiring. I dabble in photography but I'm not really very good. I'm always trying to learn more and improve.

Segue - Meatballs are my nemesis. I really have a tough time making good meatballs - although I did find a recipe last week that made a good, firm meatball that I sliced (when chilled) to use for a pizza topping.

While I was in Texas, I spent some time on her site and looked through her photography section. In my browsing, I saw a recipe that called to me - Veal and Ricotta Meatballs.

I rolled up my sleeves and got busy with what turned out - through no fault of the recipe and totally my own fault at time management - to be a three day recipe. One that was worth every minute I spent on it. And the 17 seconds I took to inhale them.

It helps that I had these fantastic fresh items in my garden.

I have to admit to a little bit of skepticism when they were frying. They were pale. Even when completely cooked, still somewhat pale in color - but I just kept forging on with the recipe.

and it was amazing.

I followed the meatball recipe precisely. I changed the sauce recipe a bit - I added carrots to the peppers/onion/garlic mixture (peppers also came from my garden, yay!) and tossed the fresh tomatoes into the sauce. I cooked it a bit longer to compensate for the raw tomatoes. I doubled the wine for the deglaze. I was really skeptical because, hello, no oregano? Yes nutmeg?

Do eeeeeeett. I will probably weight 300 pounds when these meatballs are all gone.

I spend a fair amount of time on Pinterest, and lots of that time is looking at yummy foods.

I found a recipe for Vanilla Milk with Chocolate Ice about two years ago, pinned it, and promptly forgot about it.

When it's time to go grocery shopping, I spend a bit of time meal planning, and part of that time is browsing through my pins of fantastic looking foods and determining what I can create - I really like to try new recipes. This month, this one caught my eye and I decided that I'd make it for my kids, to kind of kick start our Summer of Fun.

The only problem was that my pin lead to a dead spot. So I browsed a few different places online and came up with my own version. My kids pronounced it delicious - It tastes like melted ice cream! - and they've already planned for me to make it again - with their help. (I tossed a couple of the ice cubes into my coffee - both cold and hot - and that was superb.)

Doesn't this look yummy?

Vanilla Milk with Chocolate Ice Cubes

Chocolate ice

7/8 cup milk

1/4 cup water

1 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t. sugar

5/8 cup dark chocolate chips

Vanilla Milk

2 1/2 cups milk

4 T. sugar

2 vanilla pods

To make the ice cubes, place the chocolate chips in a 2 cup glass measuring cup. Pour the milk and water in a saucepan, add sugar and cocoa and mix thoroughly to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil over medium heat then remove from heat. Pour the mixture over the chocolate, let it melt 5 minutes then stir gently with a whisk until smooth. Cool and pour into an ice cube tray and freeze.

To make the milk, pour the milk into a large saucepan, add sugar and stir to dissolve. Slit both vanilla pods in the center, scrape the seeds and put them in the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat then remove from heat. Let cool, then refrigerate several hours or preferably overnight.

I left for Miami on Thursday to attend - and work - the BlogHer Food conference. I had, shall we say, a somewhat difficult trip to Miami, and I ended up with no luggage. I was stressed, tired, and overwhelmed by my entire life.

On Saturday, my boss and I took a walking tour of South Beach. It was a perfect day - not too hot, no humidity, and we had no immediate responsibilities - just time to spend together, with the only responsibility to eat.

I can dig it. That's my kind of responsibility.

I mean, with scenery like this, what's not to love?

I fulfilled my one Miami desire - to have a cup of Cuban coffee. It was everything I remembered, desired, and anticipated.

We sampled a Haitian restaurant, a French restaurant and an Italian restaurant. We walked several miles, and we saw gorgeous architecture, cool cars, and eclectic scenery.

We had yummy gelato.

And we had the most delicious charcuterie tray I've ever experienced. (I mixed the honey and the mustard together - so, so good.) The piece de resistance? A fantastic dessert tray.

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About Me

Carmen Staicer is a whirlwind of energy and execution, who never sleeps and drinks way too much coffee. She works from home as Social Media Programs Manager for BlogHer, and is the mom to six kids, most of whom play instruments, sing or dance and all of whom are much smarter than she will ever be. In other words, her house is never ever quiet or still. A concentration of asthma, food allergies, spectrum disorders and learning disabilities means that she spends an awful lot of time second guessing herself and Dr. Googling, as well as learning to cook everything the family might like to eat. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, boxing (she has her Black Belt in Muay Thai), sleeping, exploring coffee shops, photography, ballet class and cooking. She excels in being a smart mouth and has her major in sarcasm, with a dual minor in BS studies and avoiding laundry.